In comparison to American schools such as those in Los Angeles County, there are schools such as preparatory and some private schools that prepare students early on for SAT. And even fewer public school systems allow for classes and tutoring that is written into the curriculum or that is at the very least affordable for working students of parents. SAT courses such as Kaplan and Princeton Review, while popular, are extremely expensive such as $1000 for average cheap courses. These classes tend to be attended by sophomores, juniors, and senior high school students. In comparison to the juku cram schools in Japan which would be attended from about age 13 during junior high or even earlier and throughout high school. 
Another important comparison is knowledge of and access to such schools. In Japan, the juku crams schools are expensive. Some schools rate very high for acceptance to top high schools and top universities, while others rate lower on the scale. But nonetheless, the students learn from such schools about standardized testing very early on. The affordability of these schools varies. And juku schools are more of a common knowledge for parents. If a parent in Japan cannot afford or decides not to send their own child to juku, it is likely that the student will know at least some other friends that do attend juku or will at least be given other means through knowledge of the parent to pass exams early on (such as providing textbooks or a private tutor). 
Juku allows for dangerous competition between students in the face of college entrance. Rohlen mentions that such competition even leads to student suicide at times. Juku systems began as a means of increasing public school comparisons to private schools. The study of juku school systems was recently studied by scholars in the 1980s. The juku focus is on primarily one subject area such as history, language, or science, or math. The school will not focus on details or information such as what may be found outside of the entrance exams. Juku also differ from one another, such as the shingaku juku, where the top students attend, or hoshu juku where the students use the juku school to catch up if they are behind other students in their regular school evaluations.
In LA County prep schools for American standardized testing are not always readily available. They are extremely expensive, and the student may even begin to start the classes much too late to learn the material for an exam such as the SAT adequately. In many instances students and parents alike are not taught much about how important the SAT exam is. 
Because the school system is different in Japan in comparison to the USA, the standardized testing preparation follows that pattern. In Japan standardized testing really drives many important aspects of a student’s future. In the US a student can do poorly on the SAT and still go to a community college and then graduate from a UC and possibly be admitted to a prestigious university afterwards for a Masters or PhD degree. 